Daly To Play In Gho

July 21, 1992|By BRUCE BERLET; Courant Staff Writer

Crowd favorite John Daly, winner of the PGA Championship in August, is among the latest entries for the $1 million Canon Greater Hartford Open July 30 to Aug. 2 at the Tournament Players Club at River Highlands in Cromwell.

Daly, 26, will be joined by two former PGA Championship winners, John Mahaffey and Hal Sutton, and Mark Carnevale, winner of the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Classic Sunday.

"We're thrilled to have Daly," GHO chairman Rick O'Neil said Monday. "I'll be excited to watch him, and he's the kind of player who attracts fans who aren't even that interested in golf."

Daly, who leads the PGA Tour in driving distance with an average of 283.2 yards, took a stunning victory in the PGA Aug. 11 at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind. The major title came two weeks after he missed the cut in the GHO.

Daly, PGA Tour rookie of the year in 1991 when he won $574,783, tied for second in the Kemper Open May 31 in Potomac, Md., and is 66th on the money list ($151,955). Daly finished last among those making the cut in the British Open Sunday at 14-over 298. He defends his PGA title Aug. 13-16 at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis.

Mahaffey won the 1978 PGA in a playoff with Tom Watson and Jerry Pate, then won the American Optical Classic the next week at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton, Mass. His 10 tour victories in 22 seasons include the 1986 Tournament Players Championship. Winner of the 1970 NCAA championship and more than $3.5 million on the tour, Mahaffey has had injury problems in recent years and is 107th on the money list ($91,212).

Sutton won the PGA and TPC in 1983, when he led the tour in winnings ($426,668). He has seven tour titles in 11 seasons but hasn't won since the Phoenix Open and Memorial Tournament in 1986. He is 163rd on the money list ($37,264).

Carnevale, a tour rookie, moved to 55th in earnings ($192,896) Sunday when he won $144,000. Carnevale is the 13th of 23 tour winners this year to enter the 41st GHO